May 8, 2018

Three Days in Wrightwood, a Training Hike and What’s Next

I met Kyle on Friday afternoon at the Cajon Pass in So. Cal right off the I-15 at a famous hiker stop there – McDonalds. We then drove up the hill to Wrightwood where Kyle took 2 zero days (sort of) but only because we did a training hike for me. I highly recommend a stay up there, it’s beautiful and the town is cute, cute, cute!

I’m training for a hike that a friend of ours, Peter, and myself will make in mid-June to resupply Kyle up in the Sierra Mountains. It will be at high elevation and a more strenuous hike than I have ever taken on, so the opportunity to train at elevation in Wrightwood was something I needed to do. So we hiked back down a portion of the PCT. Here’s what we saw along the way:

This Trail Sucks Pacific Crest Trail 2018
This is freaking hard…especially starting out at 7380 ft.

 

Kyle Ski Lift PCT 2018
We hiked up about 2.5 miles, and then Kyle took a seat…

 

My Training Hike Ski Lift PCT 2018
Then I went up the hill even further to the top of the lift

 

Kyles Future Desert PCT 2018
From the top, this is Kyle’s future, down into the desert valley below…

 

Nike App Hike PCT 2018
My Nike App showing the hike and the 1499 ft elevation gain

 

After Beers Pacific Crest Trail
Lunch and beers afterwards

 

Me Kyle Trail Head 275 PCT 2018
Where I leave him Monday at mile mark 375

So, now he is on the trail again. He has a hard 4-4.5 days of hiking to reach the next mail stop at Acton, CA which is mile 444. If you’ve never heard of that town there’s no reason you ever should. Additional fun things about this trek: there is an endangered species closure due to some special frog that they don’t want any humans to hurt…so the hikers have to go around this area.

This will be the last time he is in the mountains until the Sierras. Now, he comes down out of the mountains and has to walk through hundreds of miles of boring, high desert! First up is he basically has to walk around Edwards Air Force Base, which is greatly ironic since he was stationed there in the Air Force and is close to where we got married in Lancaster. Wish him good luck on this next leg of the journey!